|
|
| Division of Bird Habitat Conservation | |
A total of $13.1 million in funding was approved for the following 16 projects on March 16, 2005. Project partners are contributing $35.6 million in matching funds and $19.3 million in nonmatching funds to affect 124,820 acres of habitat. These projects are considered part of the Fiscal Year 2005/Window 2 grants cycle. Project Summary Table.
| CALIFORNIA | |
| Project: Yolo Basin Wetland Habitat Project,
Phase II. Location: Yolo and Sacramento Counties, California. Congressional District: 1, 3, and 7. Grantee: California Waterfowl Association. Contact: Chadd Santerre, (916) 648-1406, chadd_santerre@calwaterfowl.org. Partners: California Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and three private landowners. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,089,500. Nonmatching Funds: $50,000. Joint Venture: Central Valley. Flyway: Pacific. BCR: 32. |
It is estimated that 60 percent of the Pacific Flyway’s waterfowl population (excluding seaducks) either winters in or migrates through California’s Central Valley. As crucial as this area is to winged wildlife, it is under constant threat from development. To stem the onslaught, partners will acquire, restore, and/or enhance 6,087 acres of habitat. The value of 3,911 acres already acquired and held in title by California Wildlife Conservation Board and California Department of Fish and Game will be used as match to the grant. Partners will implement a total of six restoration and enhancement projects on Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Stone Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and three private properties. They will recontour agricultural fields, create islands and loafing bars, construct new levees, install water-control structures, improve water-delivery systems, develop water sources, rehabilitate degraded wetlands, and seed uplands areas. Some 2,176 acres of wetlands, uplands, and riparian habitats will be affected. |
| GEORGIA | |
| Project: Clayhole Swamp Project. Location: Glynn County, Georgia. Congressional District: 1. Grantee: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Department). Contact: Greg Balkcom, (478) 825-6354, greg_balkcom@dnr.state.ga.us. Partners: Ducks Unlimited, Inc., The Nature Conservancy, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,826,704. Nonmatching Funds: $3,222,500. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
The 5,491-acre Clayhole Swamp, a tidal, freshwater, forested wetland, forms the southern component of the widest area (more than 10 kilometers/6.2 miles) of the lower Altamaha River floodplain. It serves important hydrologic functions?water storage, release, and filtration?and it provides habitats for a multitude of migratory birds. Traditionally, the swamp has been managed for the production of forest products; however, International Paper is divesting of this property, which could result in either clear-cutting of timber or its subdivision and development of the upland portions for residences. Partners will acquire the Clayhole Swamp tract; the Department will hold title to the property. Another element of the project includes enhancement of the Department’s Rhetts Island. Here, partners will construct and repair dikes and install water-control structures to facilitate water management on 1,845 acres, producing valuable nesting, foraging, migrating, and wintering habitats. |
| ILLINOIS | |
| Project: Middle Mississippi River Ecosystem
Project. Location: Monroe, Randolph, Jackson, Union, and Alexander Counties, Illinois. Congressional District: 12. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Eric Schenck, (303) 647-5651, eschenck@ducks.org. Partners: American Land Conservancy, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and USDA Forest Service. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $704,500. Matching Funds: $1,422,683. Nonmatching Funds: $15,000. Joint Venture: Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 24. |
The Middle Mississippi River ecosystem covers an area approximately 200 miles long and 5 to 10 miles wide. This floodplain corridor is flanked on either side by tall bluffs through which many species of ducks, shorebirds, and forest songbirds funnel during their annual migration. Historically, the region was characterized by vast tracts of bottomland hardwoods interspersed with other wetlands types. Over time, much of the floodplain has been converted to agriculture, and it is now separated from the river by levees. To conserve the habitats remaining, the partners will protect 500 acres in fee title. Some 2,521 acres have been donated to the project in fee title and are used as match to the grant. They will also enhance 328 acres of habitat on six public and private tracts by installing wells and water-control structures and by repairing and constructing levees and small berms to manage water supplies. |
| INDIANA | |
| Project: Southwest Indiana Habitat Expansion
Project. Location: Pike, Gibson, and Greene Counties, Indiana. Congressional District: 8. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Jason Hill, (734) 623-2000, jhill@ducks.org. Partners: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (Department)-Division of Fish & Wildlife and Division of Nature Preserves, Cinergy Corporation, Waterfowl USA, McCormick Farms, Multi-Resource Management Inc., Quail Unlimited, Inc., Evansville Audubon Society, Izaak Walton League, Sycamore Land Trust, Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Bow Hunters Association, Indiana Deer Hunters Association, Indiana Wildlife Federation, Pheasants Forever, Inc., Indiana Sportsman Roundtable, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and The Nature Conservancy. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,666,920. Nonmatching Funds: $3,820,000. Joint Venture: Upper Mississippi River/Great Lakes. Flyway: Mississippi. BCR: 24. |
Partners will continue and broaden efforts to protect habitat and also restore wetlands and associated uplands in the Four Rivers area of southwest Indiana. They will acquire 9,064 acres in fee title and restore and enhance 75 acres, involving four parcels in all. Goose Pond, owned by Wilder Corporation, will be transferred to the Department. The Black Beauty Tract, owned by Black Beauty Coal, will be purchased by the Service for inclusion in its Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area. Extensive restoration work has already been conducted on these tracts and is used as match to the grant. Cinergy Corporation and Ducks Unlimited, Inc., will purchase 75 acres within the acquisition boundary of the refuge, with Ducks Unlimited holding title, and will restore it to bottomland hardwood habitat. Cinergy also will restore habitat and will construct two, 3-acre nesting islands for interior least terns within the Service’s Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area. |
| MASSACHUSETTS | |
| Project: Buzzards Bay Watershed: Chapin White. Location: Plymouth and Bristol Counties, Massachusetts. Congressional District: 4 and 10. Grantee: The Coalition for Buzzards Bay. Contact: Mark Rasmussen, (508) 999-6363 extension 201, rasmussen@savebuzzardsbay.org. Partners: The Trustees of Reservations, Westport Land Conservation Trust, and Massachusetts Environmental Trust. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,044,700. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
The Town of Westport is experiencing an increase in residential development and the concomitant fragmentation of the area’s wildlife habitat. The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program conducted a town-wide assessment of rare species and exemplary natural communities. It identified the brackish-tidal marsh community along the Chapin White Tract shoreline and adjacent properties a priority for conservation. To address this need, partners will acquire a conservation easement on the 90-acre Chapin White Tract, one of the largest unprotected frontage parcels on the Westport River. The upland portion of the tract is comprised of hay fields interspersed among shrub-scrub habitat and hardwood and white pine forests. A small, perennial stream and its associated freshwater wetlands bisect the property. |
| Project: Buzzards
Bay Watershed: Nasketucket Bay Field and Marsh Project. Location: Plymouth and Bristol Counties, Massachusetts. Congressional District: 4. Grantee: The Coalition for Buzzards Bay. Contact: Mark Rasmussen, (508) 999-6363 extension 201, rasmussen@savebuzzardsbay.org. Partners: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Town of Mattapoisett, Fairhaven-Acushnet Land Preservation Trust, Massachusetts Corporate Wetlands Restoration Program, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, and William Field. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $285,000. Matching Funds: $1,156,853. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
Many towns in the Buzzards Bay watershed are expected to grow in population by 30 to 60 percent in the next 20 years, and land is being consumed at a rate 2.5 times that of population growth. To conserve habitats, partners will acquire the 64-acre Field Track on Mattapoisett Neck. This tract is a typical coastal farm, with hay fields, a pine and oak woodlot, and a 21-acre salt marsh. Partners also will restore the tract’s marsh, plus 24 acres of the marsh as it extends onto adjacent properties to the north. Restoration work will include repairing a culvert and moving a water line to allow tidal flows onto the marsh. Finally, a 3.6-acre easement on the Popes Beach Tract, containing coastal beach with rocky, intertidal habitat and a shallow interior marsh, will be donated to the project and used as match to the grant. |
| Project: Buzzards Bay Watershed: Nasketucket
Bay Vivieros. Location: Plymouth and Bristol Counties, Massachusetts. Congressional District: 4. Grantee: The Coalition for Buzzards Bay. Contact: Mark Rasmussen, (508) 999-6363 extension 201, rasmussen@savebuzzardsbay.org. Partners: Fairhaven-Acushnet Preservation Trust, Westport Land Conservation Trust, The Trustees of Reservations, Sippican Land Trust, and Massachusetts Environmental Trust. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $3,098,000. Nonmatching Funds: $20,000. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
Because of the population growth being experienced in the Buzzards Bay watershed, partners will use their grant to protect the habitats remaining. They will acquire the 127-acre Nasketucket Bay Vivieros Tract, located in the Town of Fairhaven on Sconticut Neck, a peninsula extending into Buzzards Bay. The tract is characterized by stonewall-bound hay fields and grazing pastures on the higher grounds and by a 35-acre salt marsh and coastal dune and barrier beach habitats along the tracts’ coastal boundary. Partners are matching their grant with both cash and the value of donated conservation easements on five other tracts, totaling 125 acres. |
| NEW MEXICO | |
| Project: Middle Rio Grande Wetlands Phase
II. Location: Bernalillo, Valencia, Socorro, and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico. Congressional District: 1, 2, and 3. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). Contact: Deb Davies, (505) 835-1828, debra_davies@fws.gov. Partners: Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust, Freeman Electric, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District, Pueblo de Sandia, Pueblo de Cochiti, Save Our Bosque Task Force, City of Albuquerque, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, and seven landowners. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $2,596,130. Nonmatching Funds: $822,673. Joint Venture: Intermountain West. Flyway: Central. BCR: 16 and 35. |
Historically, the Middle Rio Grande Valley was characterized
by a mosaic of forests, brushlands, meadows, and wetlands across a wide
floodplain. The advent of agricultural development in the early 20th century
and the subsequent construction of reservoirs, conveyance canals, drains,
and river levees have taken their toll, with many of these habitats now
gone. Partners will restore a total of 2,056 acres of emergent and forested
wetlands and floodplain-forest habitat on the Refuge, six private-land
tracts, tribal and state lands, and the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation
District’s Whitfield Tract. They also will acquire some 621
acres of habitat in fee-title and in purchased and donated easements. Restoration
work will include activities such as eradicating salt cedar and Russian
olive, recontouring landscapes, installing water-control structures and
rehabilitating existing ones, and installing fences to control livestock
access to wetland areas. They also will provide technical and engineering
assistance to private landowners. |
| NORTH CAROLINA | |
| Project: North Carolina Riparian Corridors I Project. Location: 12 counties, North Carolina. Congressional District: 1, 2, 4-9, and 13. Grantee: Conservation Trust for North Carolina. Contact: Jeffrey Fisher, Tar River Land Conservancy, (919) 496-5902, jfisher@tarriver.org. Partners: Wildlife Resources Commission, Tar River Land Conservancy, Land Trust for Central North Carolina, Eno River Association, Catawba Lands Conservancy, Coastal Land Trust, Piedmont Land Trust, and Triangle Land Conservancy. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $6,947,835. Nonmatching Funds: $120,000. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27 and 29. |
North Carolina’s riparian corridors face tremendous development pressures. As a counterpoint to these pressures, partners will conserve 4,502 acres in six river basins on 13 tracts via fee-title and conservation easement acquisitions. Of those acres, 2,144 are riparian habitat and floodplain forests and 2,358 are associated uplands, encompassing pine savannah and mixed pine and hardwood forests. The tracts were selected based on their water quality, populations of rare and endangered aquatic species, and importance to migratory birds. One of this project’s strengths is its amalgamation of large, contiguous tracts of habitat. Newly acquired properties will neighbor federal and state lands, protecting large areas of waterfowl and songbird migration and wintering habitat in the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. |
| Project: White Oak River-Quaternary Tract
Project. Location: Onslow County, North Carolina. Congressional District: 3. Grantee: North Carolina Coastal Federation (Federation). Contact: Todd Miller, (252) 393-8185, toddm@nccoast.org. Partners: North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, USDA Forest Service, and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (Commission). Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $481,842. Matching Funds: $1,053,258. Nonmatching Funds: $125,000. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 27. |
This project is part of a landscape-level conservation initiative
to coordinate and accelerate efforts to link existing protected lands in
nine counties along the State’s central coast. The Federation will
acquire the 1,443-acre Quaternary Tract, which is bordered on its east
side by 7 miles of the White Oak River; the Croatan National Forest protects
lands on the opposite side of the river. A perpetual conservation easement
also will be placed over the entire tract, which will then be transferred
to the Commission to manage as gamelands. In addition, the Federation and
the Commission will restore longleaf pine forest to 678 acres of the tract’s
uplands and will institute a prescribed-burning program to allow for eradication
of invasive species and regeneration of native species. |
| NORTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: North Dakota Great Plains IV. Location: 15 counties in southwestern North Dakota. Congressional District: At large. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Contact: Kevin Willis, (701) 355-8526, kevin_willis@fws.gov. Partners: North Dakota Game and Fish Department (Department), Coteau Properties Company, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., North Dakota Natural Resources Trust, Cedar River Grazing Association, Heart River Hunting Club, National Wild Turkey Federation-North Dakota Chapter, and 33 private individuals and landowners. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $225,000. Matching Funds: $455,950. Nonmatching Funds: $93,200. Joint Venture: Northern Great Plains. Flyway: Mississippi and Central. BCR: 17. |
With the extensive drainage and tillage of wetlands and grasslands
in the Prairie Pothole Region, the Northern Great Plains (Plains) are becoming
more significant to maintaining Mississippi and Central Flyway waterfowl
populations. In most of North Dakota’s Plains area, the only missing
ingredient to achieving excellent waterfowl production is brood-rearing
habitat. Partners will develop 50 wetland basins, totaling 200
acres, on
private lands to help ameliorate the situation. Another element of this
project includes the protection of 709 acres of habitat on private lands
through lease agreements with willing landowners. In addition, 557
acres will be permanently protected with the transfer of fee title from Coteau
Properties Company to the Department. Enhancement work, including fencing,
native grassland seeding, tree planting, and implementing improved grazing
regimes, will be conducted on 2,469 acres. |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | |
| Project: South Dakota Threatened Habitats,
Phase II. Location: 21 counties in central South Dakota. Congressional District: At large. Grantee: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). Contact: Kurt Forman, (605) 697-2500, kurt_forman@fws.gov. Partners: North Central Resource Conservation & Development Association (200 landowners), Hyde County Conservation District, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., South Dakota Izaak Walton League, South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, and South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $826,000. Matching Funds: $1,304,020. Nonmatching Funds: $8,400,000. Joint Venture: Prairie Pothole. Flyway: Central. BCR: 11. |
This is the second phase of a 6-year effort to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands and associated grasslands within the North American Waterfowl Management Plan’s Prairie Pothole Joint Venture area. Changes in agricultural economics are transforming central South Dakota from an expansive landscape mosaic of native habitats used by livestock ranchers to one dominated by tillage agriculture. To stave off further habitat loss, the Service will work with willing ranchers to establish perpetual conservation easements on 29,000 acres. Owners of another 48,705 acres of private and tribal lands will be asked to participate in the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife agreements, which formally establish habitat conservation measures for 10 to 20 years. Under these agreements, 3,500 cropland acres will be restored to grasslands and 300 acres to wetlands, 190 acres of wetlands will be created, and 44,715 grassland acres will be enhanced through the introduction of improved grazing regimes. |
| TEXAS | |
| Project: West Bay Conservation Corridor Wetlands Restoration
and Acquisition Project. Location: Galveston County, Texas. Congressional District: 9. Grantee: SCENIC GALVESTON, Inc. Contact: Lalise Mason, (713) 664-1870, lalise@earthlink.net. Partners: Trust for Public Land, Harborwalk LP, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, Galveston Bay Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Texas Coastal Program, and Galveston Bay Estuary Program. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $1,008,000. Nonmatching Funds: None. Joint Venture: Gulf Coast. Flyway: Central. BCR: 37. |
Coastal wetlands are recognized as vital to both the ecology and economy of Texas, providing nursery grounds for more than 95 percent of the recreational and commercial fish species in the Gulf of Mexico and breeding, nesting, and feeding grounds for 75 percent of North America’s bird species. However important to Texas these wetlands may be, they continue to disappear. Project partners will conserve 1,500 acres of coastal habitat through fee-title acquisition, protecting coastal tallgrass prairie and a 650-acre, shallow, open-water area called Basford Lake, formerly an estuarine marsh. Subsidence caused the marsh’s demise. Partners will restore the marsh by using dredge materials to create terraces and by leveling fill material associated with abandoned oil and gas production facilities. Partners also will restore 60 acres of emergent marsh that is part of a 180-acre restoration site associated with the project area. |
| Project: Wetlands Restoration within the
West Gulf Coastal Plain, Phase II. Location: 46 counties, Texas. Congressional District: 1, 2, 4-6, 8, and 31. Grantee: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Contact: Keith McKnight, (903) 581-9570, kmcknight@ducks.org. Partners: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, numerous private landowners, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $671,583. Matching Funds: $1,288,679. Nonmatching Funds: $539,560. Joint Venture: Lower Mississippi Valley. Flyway: Central. BCR: 25. |
Wetlands loss in the West Gulf Coastal Plain Region (Coastal Plain) of northeast Texas has been significant: 67 percent of bottomland hardwood habitat is gone. Remaining habitats are fragmented due to a continuing trend of subdividing large parcels for development. To curb the trend, project partners will work with landowners to restore 3,075 acres through the East Texas Wetlands Project, which provides technical assistance and/or financial incentives to landowners who agree to sign 30- to 50-year management agreements. The partners also will secure 300 acres in donated conservation easements, permanently protecting forested wetland habitat. Enhancement work will occur on three wildlife management areas: 1) White Oak Creek: invasive-species control and levee system rehabilitation will affect 276 acres of emergent marsh; 2) Alazan Bayou: a pump installation will maintain Moral Creek water on 100 acres of managed wetlands during critical periods of the year; 3) Copper: water-control structure installation, levee reparation, and invasive vegetation control will help to improve 288 acres of habitat. |
| VIRGINIA | |
| Project: Northern Accomack Habitat Protection Initiative. Location: Northhampton and Accomack Counties, Virginia. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: The Nature Conservancy (Conservancy). Contact: Dave Harris, (757) 442-3049, dfharris@tnc.org. Partners: Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust, Charles and Laura Jenkins, Charles R. Jenkins Irrevocable Trust, John P. Justis, Marie B. Justis, Timothy and Susan Brown, Basic Incorporated, and Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $1,000,000. Matching Funds: $3,318,758. Nonmatching Funds: $2,017,500. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
The partners will concentrate their activities on the lower Delmarva Peninsula and its associated barrier islands—collectively known as the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The area’s coastal lagoons and barrier islands are largely unaltered by humans and are considered by many to be the best remaining coastal wilderness in the eastern United States. To help maintain this vital ecosystem, the partners will acquire the Mark’s and Jack’s Island Tract, containing 2,000 acres of high-quality salt marsh. The Conservancy will hold fee title to this parcel, which will be managed as a nature preserve. Other elements of this project include the acquisition of conservation easements—covering 1,493 acres—already obtained by the Conservancy from willing landowners, which will be used as match to the grant. A conservation easement on 632 acres, located less than a mile south of Mark’s and Jack’s Island, will be used as match for the grant. |
| Project: Southern Tip Ecological Partnership
I. Location: Northhampton County, Virginia. Congressional District: 2. Grantee: The Nature Conservancy-Virginia Coast Reserve (Conservancy). Contact: Joe Scalf, (757) 442-3049, jscalf@tnc.org. Partners: Patrick Hand, John Payne, Mark and Jody Bundy, John and Anne Tankard, Preston White, Tomas and Cheryl O’Connor, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved: March 16, 2005. Grant: $918,736. Matching Funds: $2,402,000. Nonmatching Funds: $76,900. Joint Venture: Atlantic Coast. Flyway: Atlantic. BCR: 30. |
The goal of this multiphase project is to eliminate habitat gaps on the Delmarva Peninsula (Virginia’s Eastern Shore). Partners will protect 1,956 acres of habitat through conservation easements on seven farms adjacent to protected lands and will restore or enhance 594 acres of wetlands, coastal uplands, and riparian habitats on the peninsula’s Southern Tip and on associated barrier islands. Restoration work (controlling invasive Phragmites) will be conducted on Barrier Islands and Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges, Kiptopeke State Park, and Conservancy property. Partners also will restore former croplands on the state park and on Conservancy lands using native riparian and associated wetlands vegetation. Tidal flow that has been restricted by road-fill will be restored to two Conservancy wetlands; a third wetland will be restored via dike removal; and a well/pump system will be installed to provide a reliable water source for two other impoundments. |
/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Standard/US/2005_March.shtm was last updated 10/16/07 09:51:56
Home - FWS - Duck Stamp - Contact Us - Privacy